Here’s a good reason why Southern California freeways are jammed: Record numbers of people at work!

Local bosses added 66,300 workers in the 12 months ended in March — by the way, that’s 101 year-over-year gains in a row — to push the number of jobs to 7.68 million in the four counties covered by the Southern California News Group. The job count is up from 7.62 million a year ago and the 7.21 million average for the previous five years. It’s the highest job count for any March on record.

Here are 11 other hiring trends in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties that my trusty spreadsheet found for March. It’s compiled from the state Employment Development Department’s monthly report tracking March’s (seasonally unadjusted) data compared with data from a year ago and the average of the previous five years …

1. Unemployment rate: 4.1% vs. 4.3% a year ago; and a 6.4% 5-year average. Rest of the state? 4.7%. U.S. rate? 3.9%. And it’s the lowest SoCal jobless rate this century for any March.

2. Number of jobless: 358,800 compared with 381,500 a year ago — a decrease of 22,700 or -6% — vs. the 546,330 average for the previous five years.

Jonathan Lansner has been the Orange County Register's business columnist since 1997 and has been part of the newspaper's coverage of the local business scene since 1986. He is a native New Yorker who is a past national president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Jon lives in Trabuco Canyon -- yes, a homeowner -- and when he's not fiddling with his trusty spreadsheet at work you can likely find him rooting for his beloved Anaheim Ducks or umpiring local lacrosse games.